ClappingTree’s Web 2.0

THE BRANDS MOST ENGAGED IN SOCIAL MEDIA are also experiencing higher financial success rates than those of their non-engaged peers, according to a new study released by enterprise wiki provider Wetpaint and the Altimeter Group. ReadWriteWeb reports:

To determine this relationship, the study focused on 100 companies from the 2008 BusinessWeek/Interbrand Best Global Brands survey and the various social media platforms they used like Facebook, Twitter, blogs, wikis, and forums… After examining the companies and their social media activity levels, the brands were ranked on an “engagement scale” where scores ranged from a high of 127 to a low of 1. Those brands that were the most engaged saw their revenue grow over the past year by 18% while the least engaged brands saw losses of negative 6%.

The study grouped the brands into one of four engagement profiles that related to the number of channels they’re involved in and how deep that involvement is. At the top of the list are “mavens,” the brands heavily engaged in seven or more social media channels – like Starbucks and Dell, for instance. “Butterflies” are like wannabe “mavens,” and are also engaged in seven or more channels but are spread too thin, investing in some channels more so than others. “Selectives” focus on six or fewer channels but engage customers deeply in the ones they’ve chosen. Finally, there are “wallflowers,” or brands engaged in six or fewer channels with below-average engagement; these include companies like McDonalds and BP.

TWITTER IS NOT POPULAR AMONG TEENAGERS according to a report from analyst firm Morgan Stanley AND a survey by research group Participatory Marketing Network (PMN). The retention rate of Twitter is also much lower than that of social networks like Facebook and MySpace during their explosive growth phases, says a Nielsen Online report.

In the Morgan Stanley report (summarized on ReadWriteWeb and available here courtesy of the Financial Times), 15-year-old intern Matthew Robson says today’s teens aren’t into traditional media (think TV, radio, newspapers). For example, they don’t bother reading “pages and pages of text” (newspapers) when they could instead “watch the news summarized on the internet or TV”. They watch less TV than ever before, thanks to online streaming services like BBC’s iPlayer. When commercials come on, teens simply change the channel. While they occasionally tune into radio stations, they prefer online sites like Last.fm where they can stream music ad-free and, more importantly, pick the playlist – not some unknown DJ.

Most teens are into the Internet. They use Facebook for social networking, search and research topics with Google, watch videos on YouTube, and download music for their iPods from file-sharing sites. Teens do like viral campaigns but see banner ads and pop-ups as annoying and pointless. They tend to ignore ads entirely and never click through. Teens also tend to use phones simply for talking and texting. They also share music files with friends using Bluetooth, since the service is free and most phones now support it. They do not own smartphones or engage in video messaging or calling, due to cost. They don’t bother with mobile email either.

However, despite interest in new media, most teens see no point in using Twitter. “Most have signed up for the service,” notes Robson, “but then just leave it as they realize that they are not going to update it” apparently because “no one is viewing their profile”. Besides, to update Twitter via text message takes credit (cell phone text plans) and they’d rather use that credit to text their friends. Robson’s report wasn’t based on any sort of statistical analysis, “just good ol’ fashioned teenage honesty”.

SOME 93% OF TEENS USE THE INTERNET in 2007 (compared to 87% in 2005), and more than ever are treating it as a venue for social interaction – sharing creations, telling stories, and interacting with others.

39% of teens share online their artistic creations (e.g. artwork, photos, stories, or videos), up from 33% in 2005.

33% create or work on webpages or blogs for others, including those for groups they belong to, friends, or school assignments, basically unchanged from 2005 (32%).

28% have created own online journal or blog, up from 19% in 2005, with girls leading the charge.

27% maintain own personal webpage, up from 22% in 2005.

26% remix content found online into own creations, up from 19% in 2005.

47% (more girls) have uploaded photos where others can see them and 14% (more boys) have posted videos online; with many restrict access to the photos/videos in some way at least some of the time. Most receive some feedback on the content they post online.

55% have created a profile on a social networking site such as Facebook or MySpace.

In the midst of the digital media mix, the landline is still a lifeline for teen social life.

Multi-channel teens layer each new communications opportunity on top of pre-existing channels.

Email continues to lose its luster among teens as texting, instant messaging, and social networking sites facilitate more frequent contact with friends.

IN 2008, the growth rates in Internet users among the top 10 emerging markets in the world (China, India, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, Indonesia, Iran, Poland, and Saudi Arabia) will surpass those of the top 10 developed markets (U.S., Japan, Germany, U.K., France, Italy, Spain, Canada, South Korea, and Australia), said Mary Meeker, a technology research analyst from Morgan Stanley at the recent Web 2.0 Summit 08.

In particular, the growth in China is the most impressive, growing by 53% (an addition of 73,000 users) since 2007 and yet its penetration rate is only 16 percent. For the others: